What are 3 interesting facts about iridium?
Iridium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust. It is believed to be available at 0.001 parts per million. Gold, silver, mercury, and platinum are all exonentially more abundant than iridium. Iridium is more prevalent in meteorites, and 0.05 parts per million or higher.
What is a fact about iridium?
Iridium is the most corrosion-resistant element on the Periodic Table of Elements. It also has the highest density of all the elements. Because it resists corrosion, it is used to set standards in weights and measures.
What is the importance of iridium?
The main use of iridium is as a hardening agent for platinum alloys. With osmium, it forms an alloy that is used for tipping pens, and compass bearings. Iridium is used in making crucibles and other equipment that is used at high temperatures. It is also used to make heavy-duty electrical contacts.
What are the properties of iridium?
Iridium is a hard, brittle, lustrous, dense, transition metal of the platinum family. It is silvery-white and it is notable for being the most corrosion resistant element known. It is unaffected by air, water and acids.
Where is iridium most commonly found?
Iridium-containing ores are found in South Africa and Alaska, U.S., as well as in Myanmar (Burma), Brazil, Russia, and Australia. In the late 20th century South Africa was the world’s major producer of iridium….iridium.
| atomic number | 77 |
|---|---|
| electron config. | [Xe]4f145d9 |
What are 3 uses for iridium?
5 days ago
Iridium’s primary use is a hardening agent for platinum. Other uses for iridium include fountain-pen nibs (alloyed with osmium), compass bearings, high-temperature crucibles and heavy-duty electrical contacts.
What are 3 interesting facts about platinum?
Platinum Facts
- Meteorites and our moon contain a higher percentage of platinum than can be found on the Earth.
- The melting point of platinum is 3,215 °F (1,768.4 °C) and the boiling point is 6,917 °F (3,825 °C).
- Typically 95% pure, platinum is one of the purest precious metals.
Why is iridium flammable?
It is also the most corrosion-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C. Although only certain molten salts and halogens are corrosive to solid iridium, finely divided iridium dust is much more reactive and can be flammable.
Is all iridium radioactive?
Iridium-191and iridium-193 are naturally occuring and are stable(2). Iridium-165 through 190, iridium-192, and iridium-194 through 198 are artificially produced and are radioactive(2).
Who discovered iridium?
Smithson Tennant
Iridium/Discoverers
In the late 20th century South Africa was the world’s major producer of iridium. The element was discovered in 1803 in the acid-insoluble residues of platinum ores by the English chemist Smithson Tennant; the French chemists H. -V. Collet-Descotils, A.
What are the facts about the metal iridium?
Iridium Basic Facts. Properties: Iridium has a melting point of 2410°C, boiling point of 4130°C, specific gravity of 22.42 (17°C), and valence of 3 or 4. A member of the platinum family, iridium is white like platinum, but with a slight yellowish cast. The metal is very hard and brittle and is the most corrosion resistant metal known.
What is the melting point and valence of iridium?
Word Origin: Latin iris rainbow, because the salts of iridium are highly colored Properties: Iridium has a melting point of 2410°C, boiling point of 4130°C, specific gravity of 22.42 (17°C), and valence of 3 or 4. A member of the platinum family, iridium is white like platinum, but with a slight yellowish cast.
Why is iridium so low in the Earth’s crust?
At the time that the event would have taken place, the geological record shows an unusually high level of iridium in the planet’s clay layer. One theory about iridium’s low abundance is that its high density and siderophilic properties caused it to sink below the Earth’s crust while the planet was still primarily molten.
How many isotopes of iridium are there in the world?
Commercially, iridium is recovered as a by-product from the nickel mining industry. Isotopes: Iridium has 34 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers from 165 to 198. Naturally occurring iridium is a mixture of two isotopes: 191 Ir and 193 Ir with natural abundances of 37.3% and 62.7% respectively.